Philosophy

Our Philosophy

We believe that the traditional public education system is decreasing in effectiveness, accountability and parent involvement. Therefore, the three main objectives to fulfill the mission of Monticello Academy are that:

Students must master and move beyond academic fundamentals,

The school must clearly demonstrate its ability to accomplish this, and

Parents must have a meaningful role in decision making regarding their children and school programs acknowledging that they are the primary stakeholders of the school.

We believe that students will rise to clear and reasonable expectations. A learning environment which cultivates the value of learning and the need to pursue knowledge through a rigorous curriculum and proven methodologies is the key to success at Monticello. Monticello will use the Core Knowledge model, an educational reform based on the premise that a grade-by-grade core of common learning is necessary to ensure a sound and fair elementary education. Accordingly, Monticello will meet and exceed state curriculum requirements in a well defined, measurable and sequential manner. We believe that music, art and physical education not only improve cognition and performance, they are also key elements that help make school enjoyable.

We believe that performance must be measured in a clear and relevant way. In traditional public schools, standardized test scores are often “norm-referenced”, meaning scores are adjusted to produce an expected range as compared to other students of similar income, ethnicity or gender within the district or the state. Since Monticello is an independent school district drawing students from a large geographical area, norm-referencing is eliminated, thus giving a more accurate assessment of the school’s performance. We believe that all students can excel regardless of income, race or gender, and that such factors should not create limitations for the student through lowered expectations or stereotypes.

We believe that real parent influence in education is not only a basic right, but also the key to effective education reform. While we acknowledge that teachers are the pedagogical professionals, we recognize that parents know their children and the community best. A symbiotic and synergistic relationship should exist between teacher and parent to best meet the needs of the student. Parents must have a meaningful role in the education of their children.

We believe that the appropriate use of technology can assist in achieving all three objectives including enriched learning, teacher training and support, performance measurement, and school-parent and parent-parent communications.